A/N: I know it has been a while, this chapter gave me a lot of trouble and I rewrote it many times, I hope you like it. the * denotes where I borrowed a line and concept from Frozen II so those words in the section are not my own but were very relevant so I borrowed them. As always I do not own Frozen or Frozen II nor the characters. This story is for enjoyment, not profit. Thank you for continuing to read and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Chapter 10

August 1844

Elsa sat upon her throne in Odin's Hall, it was the first Monday of the month, the day in which public audiences were held. Today was her first public audience since the assassination, her full recovery both physically and mentally had taken time. They had attempted an audience in July, which had been an utter failure as she had been stricken with a massive panic attack as soon as her eyes laid upon the doors. Anna had taken her place that day. Elsa was reluctant to conduct the audience today, but her Privy Council had informed her that there were growing rumors that she'd fallen into an irreversible hysteria due to the assassination attempt and the loss of her child. It was imperative that she be visible not only to her people but to the world. Elsa knew that Arendelle had grown steadily into an influential power in Europe since becoming sovereign Queen. When she'd become sovereign Crown Princess much of her time had been devoted to strengthening Arendelle domestically and within Scandinavia, when news of her powers spread across the continent Arendelle had been forced back into the international community at a pace Elsa hadn't been ready for. There was no going back now, in order to protect Arendelle, Elsa had to appear strong and resilient even when she wanted to curl up into a ball and hide. Her kingdom was no longer a sleepy backwater country and she was no longer a reclusive ruler.

Elsa had to admit she was feeling better, ever since the night she admitted to Pieter that she loved him, the day they spent in each other's arms, she had begun to finally heal. The vice grip that squeezed her heart at the sight of her niece and nephew loosed with every encounter, the pain in her shoulder subsided steadily, and her strength improved greatly, she hadn't required a mid-day nap for a week now. Dr. Olsen had reported that she was physically recovered. She wouldn't lie; there were still moments where the grief of Astrid's loss was overwhelming, or when a loud bang would cause her to jump or flinch, but they were coming fewer and farther between in recent weeks. She may even dare say she felt normal most days. Pieter reassured her that they were not dishonoring their daughter by moving on, by being happy or content, that she watched over them and wished them well.

"Your Majesty, Gustav Lievson, a farmer from county Rogaland," Kai announced pulling Elsa from her thoughts. Rogaland was the most western county in all of Arendelle, it was a long trip for a farmer to make for an audience with her. Elsa's great grandfather King Aren had created a royal audience system when Arendelle's population began to increase and the more remote areas of the country began to be inhabited. There was a royal representative assigned to each of the eight counties who held audiences in the county seat once a month much like the Queen did. They would then send news of any concerns from the people that the Crown should know, otherwise the royal representative was permitted to make decisions on behalf of the Crown in minor matters. The barons and earls were the crown representatives in their respective counties, the rest were locals of high repute and appointed by the sovereign based on nominations from local leaders. Elsa's guards, who had been doubled, must have realized the oddity of the situation and visibly snapped into a heightened state of alert. Elsa watched as the farmer appeared in the hall, he was of middle age, his light brown hair mussed from the hat he held in his hands, his eyes roamed the hall as he walked, visibly taking in the grandness, he stumbled when his eyes landed on Elsa. Elsa held in a groan, it was not uncommon for citizens to react as such upon seeing her the first time. The residents of the capital city were used to her presence now, so the occurrence was less frequent; however, every once in a while a citizen from outside the capital would arrive and they would all react the same. They would stumble, or stop short, their mouths open wide and become speechless, avoiding her gaze. Elsa couldn't' fault them, she knew she was beautiful, that in conjunction with her status and her powers was understandably overwhelming to many; her understanding didn't; however, prevent it from annoying her.

Elsa looked at the man and gave him a gentle smile, she didn't believe in looking stern in such encounters, she wanted her people to trust her to feel as comfortable with her as possible, a smile went a long way in easing one's mind. "Mister Leivson, how can we help you?" she asked kindly, Elsa wasn't a huge fan of the use of the royal we, and generally did not use it during regular duties; however, in formal situations, such as the Royal Audience, or when she was speaking on behalf of the entire Arendellian government and not just as herself she would employ its usage.

"Your Majesty, it is an honor to be in your presence." The man began as he kneeled before her, his head down, his eyes looking down at the red carpet.

"Rise Mr. Levison, and tell us what has brought you to our audience on this day." Elsa requested. He hesitated a moment, likely surprised that she had permitted him to stand in her presence.

"I beseech that you come to Bue, a great fire rages in the hills and threatens our farms and homes. I have traveled for two days straight on horseback, I do not know how much more damage has been done in my absence. Please Your Majesty, help us."

Elsa subtly bit the inside of her mouth, these were the moments she hated most when her people's knowledge of yet lack of understanding of her gift drove them to request the impossible of her.

"Mr. Lievson, we are sorry to hear of this disaster and shall send troops and aid to your village to help with the containment of the fire and assist in any rebuilding that is required." She stated, hoping she would not have directly turn down this man.

"Your Majesty, your offer is most generous, but couldn't Your Majesty travel to my home and put the fire out yourself," he asked earnestly. He truly believed she could wave her hand and stop this natural disaster.

Elsa shook her head, the weight of helplessness and duty weighing on her, "I can not, Mr. Leivson. My gifts are of the winter elements, snow, ice, and arctic winds, I have no control over water. My gifts would do nothing to help you combat the wildfire."

"Snow is water, couldn't you bring in a snowstorm," he yelled. Her personal guard stepped forward at the tone in the farmer's voice. Elsa held up a hand halting him. Captain Knutsen was fiercely protective of Elsa; he'd been consumed by guilt after she'd been shot and had offered his resignation after the event. Elsa had obviously refused it; therefore Captain Knutsen was primed to act at the slightest indication that harm would come to Elsa at all times. Elsa couldn't imagine the stress the poor man felt daily.

"Mr. Leivson, while you are correct that snow is indeed water, if I were to bring a snowstorm to Bue in August I would likely do more harm than good, the winds would spread the fires exponentially and the snow that did not turn to water would freeze your crops." The farmer deflated before her eyes, her heart broke to see the loss of hope fill him. Then suddenly he perked up.

"Could you not direct your gift just at the fire?"

Elsa stood and walked towards the man, Captain Knutsen at her heels. Elsa paused just a foot before the man, he was about her height so it was not difficult for her to catch his eyes. "While your faith in my abilities is humbling, I do not possess that type of control." Elsa admitted, of course, she had never tried to do something so focused, well except when she froze the ocean around the Swedish and Finnish Armada, though that had been over a larger area, she needed to make the possible limitations of her gifts clear as well as her next point, "Even if I did have such focused control, I could not and will not use it in such a manner. I can not use my gifts to prevent the natural course of things. I am not a god and it is not my place to interfere with nature, I accidentally did it once and it nearly destroyed our nation."

"But Your Majesty, it is not a natural fire." The man replied. Elsa gazed upon him looking for falsehood in his words, she found none.

"Are you sure?" Why would someone deliberately set a wildfire?

"I am, my son and his friend were hunting when they saw two men, strangers in the brush. My son says they were not speaking Arendellian Norwegian, he did not recognize the language. A few minutes later a great blaze appeared. My son rushed home, by the time we returned toward the area the entire portion of the forest was in flames. Please, your Majesty, we need your help or all will be lost."

Elsa deliberately turned away and slowly walked to her throne, what was she to do? It had been easy to refuse her assistance when she believed the fire was natural. This changed things, the fire had been deliberately set, by foreigners, why? Her duty was to her people, to protect them from harm, but would assisting them do more harm than good?

Elsa turned a decision made, "Lieutenant Karlson, send messengers to the Privy Council, they are requested in the council room immediately. Sergeant Larsen inform Colonel Berg to ready 100 men for a humanitarian mission to Bue, we will require materials to combat a forest fire, materials for reconstruction, food, blankets, and anything else that may be required for individuals who have lost their homes. Ask Dr. Olsen to ready medical supplies. Guardsman Haugen find the Prince Consort and Crown Princess and ask them to join me in my chambers immediately."

Elsa then turned to the farmer who looked at her with such gratitude. "Kai, be sure to give Mr. Lievson some food from the kitchen and supply him with a fresh horse. Mr. Lievson meet me in the courtyard in two hours."

"You will help." He sounded as if it was too good to be true.

Elsa nodded, "We will."

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Kristoff glanced next to him, Elsa rode Balder silently, her attention ahead of them. They had left the city of Arendelle two days ago and during that time Elsa had said very little. She had decided to forgo her carriage, in order to arrive at Bue as soon as possible. They rode as hard as the horses permitted. Many had been surprised to see how accomplished the Queen was on her steed and that she was able to endure such a demanding ride, but they did not know their Queen as Kristoff did. The first time he'd seen Elsa on a horse he knew she'd been born to ride. She was a natural and rode with grace very few accomplished, it was as if she and Balder were one. Their first ride together had been a three day trip to a small town in the mountains, reports had come in that the small village had been hit hard by Elsa's summer blizzard, they rode hard and fast out to the village, he, Elsa, Anna, and a squadron of guardsmen, their mission to help the village to rebuild any lost buildings and replant any late-season crops. Elsa had ridden with the same silent determination as she did now. This time however it was just Elsa and him. Anna had wanted to come when Elsa had informed the family of what had transpired in Bue, but Renee was just recovering from a nasty summer cold, and Anna needed to remain behind. Pieter had insisted on joining as well, but Elsa had reminded him that with Anna tending to Renee's needs Pieter would need to be the Queen's Proxy for this trip. Neither Anna nor Pieter were happy about the arrangement but knew there was little they could do to change Elsa's mind. Kristoff was sure he'd only been permitted to join the mission because Elsa needed his knowledge in combating forest fires. As a mountain man and an ice harvester, he'd seen a few wildfires in his days and knew the best way to prevent their spread.

"We should be arriving within the hour, please tell me what steps we need to take first to stop the spread of the fires." Elsa's voice brought Kristoff back to reality. She was staring at him, looking for information she did not possess herself, looking to him for guidance.

"If they haven't done so already we need to dig fire breaks around the fire," Kristoff responded.

"Fire breaks?"

Kristoff nodded, "Yes, they are a gap of land where trees, shrubs, and grasses are cleared, it should be in low-lying areas, at least 10 feet in width and away from trees if possible. It is easy for the fire to jump a fire break if there are trees within 20 yards of the firebreak. I don't know the geography of this area, if the forest comes right up to the villages or if there is farmland between the forest and homesteads. Hopefully, there is grassland between the forest and the people, it will make stopping the fire easier."

Elsa was contemplative for a moment before speaking again, "Anything else?'

"We should wet down any structures in danger of catching fire if possible, it may help keep them from catching too easily." He paused a moment before speaking plainly to his sister-in-law. "Elsa there is not much one can do to stop wildfires, all we can do is keep the fire away from the villages and let it run its course. As for your gift, I don't know how to use them to combat a fire."

He saw Elsa visibly deflate for a split second before she pulled herself back up in her saddle. Her eyes then moved to the smoke in the air, they'd seen the first evidence of the fire early that morning. "Nor do I but I must try."

"Do you?" Kristoff knew Elsa did not want to use her powers to control nature or the weather ever again.

"Yes, I have thought about the situation at great length, Kristoff, foreigners have purposely set this fire, for what reason I do not know, but it was clearly intentional. I can not let my people suffer from this cowardly attack."

Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck, "Have you thought that they set the fire hoping you would respond and they could gauge the strength and limitations of your gift?"

Elsa gave him a look that said it all, of course, she had, "All the more reason for me to come," was her response, "the villagers don't deserve to lose their livelihood because some foreign government wants to test me."

"This isn't your fault." Kristoff could see the rabbit hole of self-doubt and self-crimination rapidly approaching them and Elsa was prepared to dive in headfirst.

"I know." Her response was short and clip.

"Do you?" Kristoff shrunk back when she glared at him. It was clear that the topic was to be dropped and even if she wasn't the Queen, Kristoff had a keen sense of preservation and would heed the warning.

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The fire had luckily not traveled quickly or far in the four days since Mr. Leivson had left to retrieve Elsa. Unfortunately, no one in the immediate villages had ever experienced a wildfire before therefore no one had constructed a fire break between the forest and the villages. According to Mr. Leivson, there were several hamlets around the main village two of which were directly in the path of the wildfires and could be consumed within the day.

"Captain Bjorn," Elsa called out to the commander of the company that had been deployed with her.

"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed as he approached and then fell to attention. He was a young man, in his early thirties Elsa supposed with brown hair and mustache.

"Divide your company into four platoons, send two to begin making fire breaks between the forest and the two hamlets in immediate danger. There is enough space between the forest and the house but you'll have to clear out some crops to do so. Send the third to aid with any medical or humanitarian need there may be in the areas already damaged or destroyed by the fires and send the fourth to find the outer boundaries of the fire and evacuate any homes in the fire's paths. Luckily the winds have been calm and the fire slow. Hopefully, we can contain it long enough to prevent it from gaining any more ground; with any luck, it will burn itself out soon."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He hurried off to follow her orders. Kristoff, who had been beside her, finally spoke, " What would you like me to do?" Elsa appreciated his stalwart demeanor and calm head. As much as she loved her sister and husband, Elsa could not imagine having them as her companion with wildfires raging around. She needed someone who would keep a level head, provide advice based on knowledge and facts, not emotions. Kristoff was that man for Elsa, and in moments like this, she depended on him more than he knew.

"Be with me." Elsa cajoles Balder as close to the fires as she could before dismounting and letting the page boy take the horse. She leaned into its muzzle and rubbed its face, "Don't worry I will be fine. Take a rest and be nice to Michael." Balder huffed and then reluctantly followed the servant boy. The fire was about a hundred yards away, far enough away (Elsa hoped) that she was not in any immediate danger but close enough that she could still feel the heat radiating from the massive flames. She calmly sat in the grass and gestured for Kristoff to do the same. "I'm going to try and focus my gift towards just a small portion of the fire, see if I can create enough sustained water to put the flames out. I've never done something like this before so I need you to make sure I don't do anything stupid that Anna and Pieter would kill me for as well as judge when it's time to retreat should the fire continue to advance." Kristoff nodded before placing a hand on her shoulder. "I have faith in you."

Elsa smiled at his words, as a man of little words the words he did choose to share were often important, these now gave her the strength and fortitude to continue. With nothing else left to say she closed her eyes as she had back on the Aurora and dove into the cistern of her magic. It was bright today and she felt strong as pulled at it, in her mind's eye she could see the fire before her. She envisioned a blizzard of snow shooting from her hands as if from a fire hose. Opening her eyes she saw her magic behaving as she had wished but it did not reach the flames. She needed to get closer. She stood and started to walk closer.

"Elsa, what are you doing?" Kristoff called out as he followed after her.

"I need to get closer." She said as if it were obvious, which it was.

"It's too dangerous, the winds could shift and the fire could be on us in a matter of minutes." He replied just as frankly.

"Then pay attention to the wind. I have to see if this will work." She would not turn back when she was so close to helping, to being useful to her people. When they were about twenty yards away, the distance Kristoff had mentioned was ideal for a firebreak Elsa sat again. She dove once more into her magic and crafted into a stream of snow and ice and wind. Elsa split her attention between her magical reserves and the fire before her. The stream was making it to the fire now but didn't seem to be helping at all, it just evaporated as soon as it neared the flames. "You're aiming too high I think, aim for the base of the fire." Kristoff's words came to her and Elsa did as she suggested; within a few minutes, the fire before her was pushed back a little. It was working. Elsa stopped momentarily to look at Kristoff who nodded. "We need to do this strategically. We'll find sections where the fire is smallest, putting those areas out first, then the main blaze," Kristoff stated matter of factly.

"Led the way." Elsa smiled as she stood and followed Kristoff to the next location.

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Four days, it had taken four full days to put the fires out. Kristoff looked down at the woman lying in his lap; she looked as exhausted as she was beautiful. He had done his best to be the voice of reason, to allow her to provide assistance in combating the fire while still encouraging her to take care of herself. It was a fine line for he desired to aid the villagers as much as she did; but she was his priority, his charge, and he needed to keep her unscathed. The result was a weary and drained Queen who was unable to ride back home on her steed. Mr. Levison, grateful for the Queen's tireless help, had provided the convoy with his wagon and fur blankets for Elsa to rest on during their journey home. Kristoff rode with her, allowing her to sleep on him, Captain Knutsen drove the wagon and the rest of the Queen's Guard rode alongside the wagon. They'd already been traveling for two days and would be arriving in the capital this afternoon. Elsa had slept the majority of the time, only waking to eat and converse briefly. It was clear that she wanted to remain awake but her body would have none of it. Kristoff wasn't surprised, he knew Elsa had never used her magic as much as she had over the course of the last four days. She had been a sight to behold, firing streams of snow and ice in every direction putting out any flames that came near the people's homes, fields, and animals. It was clear by the end of day two that her energy and magic were drained and Kristoff had won a small battle in forcing her to take a mid-day nap on both the third and fourth days for two hours each. The fact that she was still asleep as they approached Arendelle was further proof that she had overdone it. Kristoff knew Elsa wanted to be woken in time to ride into the capital, for she did not want the people seeing her in a compromised condition, but he feared if he woke her and she rode Balder she may fall asleep and off her horse.

The decision was taken out of his hands as Elsa woke just before the first outlying farm as if her mind and body knew the moment they entered Arendelle county boundaries. She reached up and stretched then realized her head was in his lap blushed. "Sorry." She murmured as she sat up.

Kristoff laughed, "No problem you're not the first Arenfjord woman to fall asleep on my let alone drool in my lap." Elsa made a face and swatted at him, "I don't drool." Kristoff could help but teaser her a bit more, "Sure you don't, Your Majesty," he replied as sarcastically as he could. She was about to retort when the pageboy Michael arrived with Balder in tow.

He looked at her with concern, "Are you sure about this, you look a bit tired still."

Elsa waved him off, "I'll be fine."

She was just barely right, Kristoff had noticed her begin to sway a bit right as they entered the lower district of the city by the harbor and once they entered the courtyard he jumped off his horse running to her side. She smiled at him, fatigue evident in her movements. "Here, let me help." He helped her off Balder and wasn't surprised when her legs gave out from under her the moment her feet hit the ground. Balder instinctively stepped closer, assisting Kristoff in catching the tired stubborn young Queen. Kristoff swept her into his arms.

"Let me down, I am fine." Elsa protested and attempted to get from his strong arms.

"Nope," She replied and tightened his grip on her. He was halfway to the steps when Anna came rushing towards him with Renee in her arms, Pieter and Gerda closely behind with Olaf a few paced back. "What happened? Fetch Dr. Olsen!" Anna yelled in a panic.

"No, don't she is fine," Kristoff called out to the maid who had made to follow Anna's order. "She's just fatigued from fighting the fire and the journey home." Anna was upon them now and the concern for her sister was evident in her entire being.

"You're sure?"

Kristoff leaned over and kissed his wife and then child, "Positive, she just needs a night in her own bed."

"I'll inform the maids to turn down Her Majesty's bed," Gerda stated after she'd seen the Queen herself and made sure that Kristoff's words were true.

Pieter took Elsa from Kristoff and followed after the old servant, Olaf again trailing behind, clearly aware of his creator's needs.

Kristoff followed Anna back into the castle and up to their rooms. Christopher was there with his nanny and upon seeing his father rushed up to him. Kristoff scooped his boy into his arms and let out a breath. It never ceased to amaze him how the unconditional love of a child was so refreshing. "I missed you, daddy," Christopher said as he snuggled into Kristoff's chest.

"And I you. Did you have a good time while I was gone?"

"Yes, play with Oaf, fish with Uncle Piete." The thirty-three-month-old recounted proudly.

"I am so glad for my little man." Kristoff moved the couch and sighed as he sank into the soft cushion. He kicked off his boots as he placed his aching feet on the ottoman.

"Care to explain to me why my sister nearly passed out from fatigue in the courtyard?" Anna demanded as she handed Renee over to the nanny. Kristoff waited for the room to be clear before answering.

"You should have seen her, it was amazing Anna. She strolled right up to the fire and extinguished the flames with streams of snow and ice like it was nothing. This one time four soldiers clearing a field as a fire break became surrounded by flames when the winds suddenly shifted and Elsa just ran towards it blasting the fire away as rapidly as an archer shooting arrows. If it wasn't for her there is no doubt in my mind that the entire valley and possibly more would have been destroyed by that fire."

Anna did not look as impressed or awed by his recount of Elsa's exploits as he would have thought, but then again he should have guessed she'd be less than enthralled; Anna had a deep-seated fear of losing Elsa and the recent assassination attempt had only fortified that fear.

"You let her run into the fire!' He winced at the shrill in her voice.

"It's not like I could have stopped her, she is the Queen." He reminded his wife, they may be family but when it came to official royal events or performing royal duties Elsa was first and foremost his Queen.

"That was your job though, you were supposed to stop her from going into danger." Anna was pacing now, the anger radiating from her.

Kristoff stood, his own patience wearing thin, he was tired from a daunting task and arduous journey. "No, my job was to advise my Queen on the best way to contain and fight a raging fire set by unknown enemies of our country."

Anna shook her head, "I don't want her killing herself to be everything to everyone else*!" Anna shrieked, "You're supposed to help me stop her but instead you help her do just that." Anna turned on her feet and stormed out of the room. Kristoff signed a flopped down on the couch, he'd let his wife settle down before speaking with her again, sometimes it was difficult being caught between his wife and her sister.

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The entire afternoon and night in her own bed had done Elsa wonders, she woke the next morning more refreshed than she had in days. It was still early in the morning and Pieter was asleep next to her, not wanting to wake her husband Elsa attempted to quietly leave her bed only to nearly trip over Olaf who was resting at the side of her bed. Elsa bent down and whispered to her little friend, "Olaf what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to help you feel better?" He said matter of factly.

Elsa smiled genuinely at him and caressed his snowy cheek. It was odd and hard to explain but whenever she felt weary, in terms of her magic, Olaf's presence or being in her ice palace always made her feel stronger and rejuvenated.

"Thank you I do feel better, perhaps I should take you along next time I plan to use so much magic."

Olaf smiled, "Of course you should. I'm your coffee for your magic." This caused Elsa to laugh loudly which then caused Pieter to stir.

"Nysno?" He sat up rubbing his eyes and looking for her.

"I'm right here." She told him as she rounded the bed and sat next to him.

He looked around and towards the window, "It looks early, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Elsa shook her head, "I feel fine, besides I slept for two and half days on the way home." She leaned over and kissed his forehead, "You rest, I'm just going to go for a walk with Olaf before my day starts."

Pieter nodded and rolled back over falling asleep instantly. Elsa chuckled at her husband before quickly changing into a light summer pink dress with yellow flowers embroidered on it. "Shall we go down to the pond?" She asked Olaf who had been waiting for her in the common room. "Yes please, I want to see how big the ducklings have grown."

Together they slowly made their way down to the palace gardens, Elsa nodded in acknowledgment to the maids and footmen they passed; when she came across a surprised-looking Gerda she ensured the woman she was feeling well and asked that her breakfast be served by the pond.

While it was still summer the morning air held a slight chill to it which Elsa found invigorating. The ducklings had grown quite a bit over that past few months having shed most of their down. They would be ready to fly with their parents soon. Olaf sat next to Elsa chatting quietly about what he had done while she was away. It was these tranquil moments when she was alone with one of her loved ones that Elsa cherished most. The mission to Rogaland had been exciting and challenging yet absolutely terrifying. Terrifying not only because they were fighting a wildfire that threatened some of her poorest citizens but because she found the continuous use of her powers exhilarating, empowering, and addictive. She was tempted every moment to try more, do more, use more magic; it took everything within her to keep her powers reigned in. Kristoff and the others thought she was exhausted from the unusual sustained use of her powers, from using them for extended periods as she had never done before; while that was true, she was actually worn out from a combination of the amount of magic she expelled and the effort of restraining her magic, from holding back a tidal wave that wanted to rush forward sweeping away anyone and anything before it. She had learned it was vastly more taxing to use large quantities of magic in a small directed manner than it was to let it go freely.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" the cool tone of her sister's voice caused Elsa to turn; Anna stood about five yards away, her hands on her hips, her eyes red with dark circles beneath. Elsa jumped to her feet crossing the distance between her and her Anna in a matter of seconds. She reached forward as she spoke, "Anna what's the matter?" Anna shocked her by pulling away from the attempt gesture of comfort.

"What's the matter? What's the matter?" Anna threw up her hands, "I come down to the courtyard only to see my husband cradling my limp ragged sister in his arms after returning from fighting a wildfire and you want to know what is wrong?"

"Anna," Elsa started but she was cut off by the incensed woman before her. "Don't Anna me. Jesus Christ Elsa, are you trying to put yourself into an early grave? Are you intentionally making me the third Arendellian monarch in less than 10 years!" Anna stepped closers to her, Elsa could see the steam coming off of her sister, the torrent of fury just beneath the service ready to spot forward at any moment. "If so you are doing a smashing job of it."

Elsa took a step back and put her hands up, "Anna I'm not doing that, I promise you I was careful."

Anna scoffed, "Careful, Kristoff told me you ran towards the fire on several occasions. That does not sound careful to me."

Elsa shook her head, "You weren't there…" Anna spoke over her again, "Who's fault was that?"

Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out Elsa reached over pulling Anna into her hug. The younger sister did not protest this time. Elsa squeezed her as tightly as she could, trying to convey with her actions rather than her words how sorry she was for worrying Anna, how much she loved her, that she did not want to be anywhere else but by her sister's side. Finally, she pressed a tender kiss to the side of Anna's head. "I did what was necessary to protect our people Anna; however, I was as cautious as I could be. I ordered Kristoff to keep me from going too far and doing something rash, and he did Anna. He allowed me to do my job, to use my gift to aid our people, yet he made sure I remembered what was waiting for me at home, reminding me to be discerning, not heedless in my actions."

Anna was stiff and motionless for a moment longer before she sagged into Elsa, "I can't lose you."

Elsa smiled as she extended her arms so that she could see Anna, using her thumb she caressed Anna's cheek as she whipped away her tears, "Nor I you. I promise you I will always do my best to return home to you and our family."

"You'd better."

It was then that Gerda arrived with breakfast, enough for the two sisters, somehow the loyal servant always knew when the two were together. They ate in relative silence reveling in each other's company.